Happening Elsewhere: Felix Kinged AL's Best

Score a win for the Sabremetricians on this one, I guess. Or rather, don't score a win, but an, uh, positive WAR and solid K/BB ratio or some such instead. Mariners ace Felix Hernandez, deemed by most stat heads and some casual fans as the most dominant pitcher in the Junior Circuit this season for his 2.27 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and league-leading inning total, was still seen as something of an underdog in the AL young Cy Young race, due to his unattractive (though mostly just unlucky) 13-12 record for an extremely unsupportive Seattle team.

Well, it is truly a new day for MLB player performance rubrics, since King Felix beat out more conventional hopefuls CC Sabathia and David Price to win the Cy Young. ("For once, Felix Hernandez got all the support he needed for a big win." read the ESPN lead.)

Hernandez's award gives him the record for least wins in a CY season, set twelve months ago by Tim Lincecum's 15 Ws in his NL-winning year. "This confirms the Cy Young is an award not only for the pitcher with the most wins but the most dominant," said an apparently welling-up Felix. He went on to thank Keith Law and Nate Silver for their contributions in making this day possible, and brought Bill James up on stage for a touching embrace, as Joe Morgan muttered in the background.

Even the Good Doctor was happy for Hernandez on his big day. "Felix's numbers are very, very impressive," said fellow '10 Cy Young recipient Roy Halladay. "Ultimately, you look at how guys are able to win games. Sometimes, you find a way to win games."